Free Republic

Rarely has Horst Seehofer appeared so honest. Quiet, composed, but with a slightly raspy voice, Germany’s interior minister on Friday afternoon opened his press conference with journalists concerning the shooting in Hanau. “The racist background to this act in my view is completely undisputed and cannot be relativized,” he said. Seehofer noted that there was a very high “right-wing” danger in the country and for democracy, and that represents “the greatest security threat in our country.”As a consequence of the attack on Wednesday afternoon, the interior minister said “sensitive institutions” such as mosques would see an increased police presence. More...

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said there was room for maneuver in reimposing the 2015 agreement that kept Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. But he added it would only happen if Germany, France and the UK showed the same willingness to reinstate the deal’s economic benefits for Iran. The landmark agreement has been on life support ever since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed economic sanctions on Tehran, leaving Germany, France and the UK struggling to breathe life into the ailing deal. […] “We have said that we are prepared to slow down or reverse...

The EU’s new foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, will meet with Iranian leaders on Monday, as the EU seeks to salvage the tattered 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The meeting comes amid a policy split between European signatories to the nuclear deal and the US. The US dropped out of the accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and reimposed sanctions on Iran in August 2019. Tehran has responded by rolling back its commitments to the deal’s core elements, which include capping uranium enrichment. On January 6, Iran said that it would no longer adhere to its...

In a wide-ranging speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that Germany had made a mistake during the 2015 refugee crisis. Not, she said, by welcoming asylum-seekers fleeing conflict, but by not preparing for their arrival as civil conflicts began cropping up across the Middle East and northern Africa. “The mistake was not to have paid attention to create an environment where people can stay in their own country,” the chancellor said. She warned that the mistake should not be repeated with Libya, where the conflict between the UN-backed government and rival...

Tehran, Iran — Iran's president warned Wednesday that European soldiers in the Mideast "could be in danger" after three nations challenged Tehran over breaking the limits of its nuclear deal. Tehran's top diplomat meanwhile acknowledged that Iranians "were lied to" for days following the Islamic Republic's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people. President Hassan Rouhani's remarks in a televised Cabinet meeting represent the first direct threat he's made to Europe as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's admission that the Islamic Republic lied to its own people, meanwhile, came...

Britain, France and Germany ratcheted up pressure on Iran Tuesday to cease its violations of a landmark nuclear deal, stressing that they want to resolve differences through talks while starting the clock on a process that could result in a so-called “snapback” of United Nations sanctions. The three countries, which signed the international agreement in 2015 along with the United States, Russia and China, said in a letter to the European Union’s foreign policy chief that they had no choice but to trigger the deal’s “dispute mechanism,” given Iran’s ongoing transgressions. The three said they rejected Tehran’s argument that Iran...

(Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will introduce and vote on a war powers resolution this week to limit U.S. President Donald Trump’s military actions regarding Iran.

Germany’s foreign minister said Saturday he is hoping for direct talks with Iran, in addition to the country’s European partners and the United Nations, as a way of de-escalating tensions in the Middle East following the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani. Heiko Maas told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag: “In the coming days, we will do all we can to counteract a further escalation of the situation — in the United Nations, the EU and in dialogue with our partners in the region, including in talks with Iran.” Despite heightened anxiety in the region, Maas said he had no...

Germany is struggling to deport rejected asylum seekers, the country’s top police chief said on Wednesday. Federal police chief Dieter Romann blamed a lack of pre-deportation facilities for deportations not being carried out. Speaking to Germany’s Funke media group, he said, “there are far too few detention centers in the country.” For the 248,000 foreigners required to be deported, there are just 577 deportation centers for them to be held and processed before leaving the country, Romann told Funke. However, 119,000 of those have been granted a stay of deportation as local authorities see a reason why they cannot currently...

The European Commission urged Germany late Monday to accept children from overcrowded migrant camps in Greece. “The Commission is concerned about the difficult situation for unaccompanied minors on the ground in Greece and remains in close contact with the Greek authorities, notably as concerns the situation on the heavily overcrowded islands and the very challenging situation in the hotspots,” a spokesman told DPA news agency. “In particular as regards the more than 5,000 unaccompanied minors, the Commission has repeatedly called upon the member states to continue relocating from Greece on a voluntary basis, with funds provided by the Commission,” the...

Berlin’s first Arabic-language radio station will have the potential to reach more than 100,000 Arabic speakers living in the German capital. The MABB media council for Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg announced the approval of Radio Arabica on Thursday. Radio Arabica’s programming will cover life in Berlin, culture, news, comedy and sport. It will also play a mix of Arabic folk music, pop and modern music. Hansjürgen Rosenbauer, the head of the MABB media council, praised the expansion of “diversity” in the radio landscape. …

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry says it has summoned Norway’s ambassador to convey the deep concern of the government and Pakistani people over the recent burning of Islam’s holy book by a Norwegian man that was caught on video. In Saturday’s statement, the ministry said: “Such actions hurt the sentiments of 1.3 billion Muslims around the world.” The statement demanded action against the person in the city of Kristiansand who desecrated the Quran at an anti-Islam rally last week. …

At times it seems like Malmö has more in common with Baghdad than with other European cities. This year 29 bomb explosions rattled the city of 317,000 as of November 11. Police reported 50 shootings in the Malmö region by the end of October — in a country where guns are hard to come by legally.Formerly an industrial town known for shipbuilding, Malmö has remade itself since the Oresund Bridge, which connects it to the Danish capital, Copenhagen, opened in 2000. Sweden’s third-biggest city has become a knowledge hub, with a new university drawing students from Scandinavia and abroad and...

Pope Eliminates Pork from Banquet out of Respect for Muslims ROME — Pope Francis invited 1,500 mostly poor people to lunch this weekend to celebrate the World Day for the Poor and requested that all pork be removed from the menu so as not to give offense to Muslim guests. This Sunday marked the third annual celebration of the World Day of the Poor, a Catholic commemoration established by Pope Francis in November 2016 to celebrate the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

The government has long struggled with foreign involvement when it comes to the education of imams who lead Muslim communities across Germany. Now, a new educational association, with start-up funding from Germany’s interior ministry, is set to launch on November 21. Even though some Muslim organizations have been training imams for their own communities in Germany, the majority of imams working in the country are affiliated with the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB). Among Germany’s nearly 4.5 million Muslims, around 3 million are of Turkish origin. […] DITIB is Germany’s largest Islamic umbrella group, with 900 affiliated mosques. Its...

A woman whose six children all became terrorists – the five still alive have accumulated a total of 19 life sentences – is being praised and honored by Palestinian officials. Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh described the mother, Um Nasser Abu Hmeid, as a "school for patience … we learn perseverance and resolve from her," reported Palestinian Media Watch. "There is no doubt Palestinian Authority leaders value terrorists and murderers, and go to great lengths to show their support for them: The PA pays them generous salaries while in Israeli prison and after, ensures them jobs upon their release, and...

Eighteen years after the September 11 jihad attacks that murdered nearly three thousand people, this is where we are: the Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church in Michigan has canceled an event called “9/11 forgotten? Is Michigan surrendering to Islam” under pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group with ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. And so the answers are clear: yes, 9/11 has been forgotten, and Michigan is indeed surrendering to Islam. The event was to feature an ex-Muslim, Shahram Hadian, speaking on “How the Interfaith Movement is Sabotaging America and the Church” and economist and investigative...

Burger King in South Africa is dropping the word “ham” from its menu, after adding bacon at some of its stores, in order to be respectful of Muslim customers. On Friday, the chain confirmed it has changed the names of three of its products. What was previously known as a “Double Spicy Hamburger” will now just be a “Double Spicy Burger”; the “Triple Hamburger with Cheese” becomes the “Triple Burger with Cheese”, and a “Hamburger King Jr.” on the kids’ menu will now be just a “Kids Burger”. The names are being changed “to be more respectful of” its halaal...

Archbishop of Canterbury Hosts Muslim Gabfest as Peers Push Abortion on Northern Ireland Truant archbishop marks World Emoji Day as babies are slaughtered LONDON (ChurchMilitant.com) - The archbishop of Canterbury and his fellow bishops in the Church of England are being slammed for skipping the critical House of Lords vote that resulted in the imposition of abortion on Northern Ireland. None of the 26 bishops who serve as voting members of Parliament were present or voted during the debate on July 17 and 18

Plans to no longer serve children pork or gelatin-containing products like gummy bears at two day care centers in the eastern German city of Leipzig prompted a wave of criticism online and made headlines across the country on Tuesday. The mass-circulation Bild newspaper first reported about the day care centers’ proposal, saying the decision to make the changes came from consideration for two Muslim children. “Out of respect for a changing world, only pork-free meals and snacks will be ordered and served starting from July 15,” read a letter sent to parents, according to Bild. Responses to the plans grew...